A group of determined cyclists geared up on Saturday, 25 February for a charity ride which will see them complete the “7 Peaks in 7 Days’ challenge, in the hope to raise money for prostate cancer research at Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

The group known as Pedal for Prostate (P4P) is a group of cyclists from Ballarat and Geelong regions, who are in the age risk category for prostate cancer, which affects 1 in 5 men in Australia before the age of 65.

Since the group’s establishment four years ago, they have managed to raise over $100,000 and are determined to reach $130,000 in 2017.

The group started at Mount Baw Baw and went on through to Omeo and Dinner Plain. Yesterday, they rode from Bright to Hotham and will continue their journey onto Mount Buffalo, Buller and then Lake Mountain.

Pedal for Prostate cyclist David Reither said that the ride was “rewarding” and that they had gained a lot of support along the way.

“It’s been good, it’s been challenging, it’s been tough and we knew it would be, but we have done a few of the mountains in the previous three years and we did a lot of long rides then too,” Mr Reither said.

“So far, we have raised 20-25k this year but, in total, we have raised 105k over our three years previously.

“We do a bit of fundraising along the way, a lot of it is corporate sponsors and local things like tin rattles, coin collections or leaving cans at local restaurants and pubs and get sponsorship that way.

“Donations also come in through our website and that’s a lot to do with how we raise our funds.

“We are lucky, we have the state manager from prostate cancer foundation with us, so he comes and supports us every year.

“We are the largest non-corporate fundraiser for prostate cancer, so he comes along and helps out,” he said.

A group of police officers started the non-for-profit charity four years ago and since has expanded to all men who are in the risk age bracket. Their first trip was from Adelaide to Geelong and over the years they have initiated 800-kilometre rides to help raise their funds.

The cyclists come from a diverse background with varying cycling experience and many of whom have been directly affected by prostate cancer.

Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia’s State Manager for Victoria and Tasmania, John Strachan, said that the group were doing tremendous work to increase awareness and help raise funds for prostate cancer research.

“Doing the program has not only built up awareness to the wider community but also the police force, so it has been fantastic because they come from either Ballarat or Geelong, so we have sort of two communities that are heavily invested in it — it’s fantastic,” Mr Strachan said.

They just decided prostate cancer, being the number one cancer in men and especially in Victoria, it was really important to create that awareness for men.

“Obviously serving police officers, they have the same sort of higher rates of prostate cancer in their upper age group, so they decided to do something for that.

“In the first 3 years, they have raised over 100k but it is also the awareness, people see them and they have great uniforms, so it is really important for us.

For more information about Pedal for Prostate or if you wish to donate to the great cause, visit www.p4pcancer.com.

If you would like to know more about prostate cancer in Australia and how it affects 1 in 5 men, visit www.prostate.org.au.